Natural Gas Prices Are Going Up Before Winter
Posted on August 3, 2022 by Bob Jenks
Tags, Energy, General Interest
Editor’s Note: Regulators approved increases for all three natural gas utilities. Read about the results on the CUB Blog.
Oregon’s three natural gas utilities are preparing for another round of large bill increases. Last week, they all filed their rate proposals for the winter heating season, which begins November 1.
Cascade Natural Gas is proposing a 25 percent increase for residential customers. Avista Utilities is proposing a 19 percent increase. And NW Natural is proposing a 16 percent increase. This is on top of large bill hikes last fall and an additional increase for NW Natural. Below is the expected increase over a 13-month period from October 2021 to November 2022.
For NW Natural customers, this will be the third bill hike since last November. Last November NW Natural rates went up by 13.2 percent to reflect increases in the wholesale cost of gas. In December, NWN filed a general rate increase to raise rates, including its profit margin, executive bonuses, and advertising budget. CUB has been fighting that rate increase and has successfully reduced it – but several issues are not yet resolved. Now they are proposing an additional 16 percent increase.
The primary reason for these latest increases is that wholesale natural gas prices have increased significantly. There are a variety of reasons for this increase in the cost of gas. Extreme weather has increased the demand for natural gas for heating and for electricity generation. The war in Ukraine has caused the price of oil and gas to rise throughout the world.
In addition, natural gas is methane and gas companies are beginning to purchase a small portion of expensive biomethane that is derived from landfills and livestock operations. While currently, this is a tiny fraction of the gas that is sold by Oregon’s gas utilities, it contributes to the rate increase because it is significantly more costly than traditional methane from fossil fuels.
CUB recognizes that this increase will be hard for customers to deal with. Households will feel the impact, particularly if Oregon faces unusually cold weather this winter. Customers should consider contacting their gas utility to sign up for an Equal Pay Program that spreads the winter heating costs over the rest of the year making monthly bills more manageable.
Low-Income Discounts
CUB worked with a coalition of low-income and environmental justice advocates to create low-income discounts in an attempt to reduce the energy burden on households that are struggling to pay their utility bills. Unfortunately, for many customers, these increases are greater than the discounts. This means these programs will fail to reduce the energy burden on low-income customers.
Even still, the discounts are important and should help customers lower their monthly energy bills.
Beginning October 1, natural gas companies will roll out their low-income bill discount programs here in Oregon. Cascade Natural Gas and Avista Utilities will both begin sign-ups for their programs starting October 1. NW Natural will launch its program on November 1.
All three companies have developed discount programs. Customers at or below 60% State Median Income (SMI) can call the gas company or their local Community Action Partner (CAP Agency) saying that they are interested in the bill discount program after the program start date. Customers will be asked for their household size and income level and will be placed in the appropriate discount tier. To check if your income level is at or below the SMI requirement, you can utilize the calculator or view the table here.
Call Avista after October 1 at (800) 227-9187 or visit their website where you can find more information about the bill discount program once it’s released.
Call Cascade after October 1 at (888) 522-1130 or visit their website where you can find more information about the program once it’s released. Cascade will also have information about their grant program (OLIBA) available to help customers who have built up past due bills. Customers can receive information about this assistance program at the time they sign up for the bill discount program.
Call NW Natural after November 1 at (800) 422-4012 or visit their website where you can find more information and updates about the program launch.
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12/15/22 | 0 Comments | Natural Gas Prices Are Going Up Before Winter